What We Do

The vision of the Department of Sociology at Rice University is to advance knowledge of social processes and patterns, mentor a diverse set of scholars and students, and teach the state of the art in the field, engaging in service to the university, the discipline, and the larger community.

Postdoctoral Program

Beginning in 2002, the Department of Sociology at Rice University established a postdoctoral program with the intent of providing two years of research support for promising new and early career sociology scholars. Postdoctoral fellows also benefit from Rice‚Äôs state-of-the-art facilities and internationally renowned centers and institutes.

Our Academic Programs

The Rice Sociology undergraduate program allows considerable latitude in pursuing personal interests while ensuring familiarity with core sociological theories and research methods.The Rice Sociology doctoral program prepares students to be sociologists of the highest quality, able to conduct cutting edge research and to teach with excellence.

What We Do

The vision of the Department of Sociology at Rice University is to advance knowledge of social processes and patterns, mentor a diverse set of scholars and students, and teach the state of the art in the field, engaging in service to the university, the discipline, and the larger community.

Postdoctoral Program

Beginning in 2002, the Department of Sociology at Rice University established a postdoctoral program with the intent of providing two years of research support for promising new and early career sociology scholars. Postdoctoral fellows also benefit from Rice‚Äôs state-of-the-art facilities and internationally renowned centers and institutes.

Our Academic Programs

The Rice Sociology undergraduate program allows considerable latitude in pursuing personal interests while ensuring familiarity with core sociological theories and research methods.The Rice Sociology doctoral program prepares students to be sociologists of the highest quality, able to conduct cutting edge research and to teach with excellence.

Steve H. Murdock is the Allyn R. and Gladys M. Cline Professor of Sociology at Rice University. He previously served as Director of the U.S. Bureau of the Census having been nominated for the position by President Bush and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2007 and serving until the change in administration in January of 2009. Prior to his appointment at Rice, he was the Lutcher Brown Distinguished Chair in Demography and Organization Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and the Director of the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research. Before UTSA, Murdock was a Regents Professor and Head of the Department of Rural Sociology at Texas A&M University. He was also the official State Demographer of Texas. He was appointed to this position by Governor Rick Perry and was the first person to occupy this position. Dr. Murdock earned his Ph.D. in demography and sociology from the University of Kentucky and is the author or editor of 15 books and more than 150 articles and technical reports on the implications of current and future demographic and socioeconomic change. He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards. These include the Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award in Research from Texas A&M University, the Excellence in Research Award and the Outstanding Rural Sociologist Award from the Rural Sociological Society, The Distinguished Alumni Award from North Dakota State University and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Sociology at the University of Kentucky. He was named one of the fifty most influential Texans by Texas Business in 1997 and as one of the twenty-five most influential persons in Texas by Texas Monthly in 2005. He is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Eta Epsilon national honor societies.

Recent Publications:

Professional Positions¬†¬†
2009-Present:¬† Director, Hobby Center for the Study of Texas and Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor, Department of Sociology, Rice University¬†¬†
2007-2009:¬† Director, U.S. Bureau of the Census (Presidential Appointment).¬† Served as the 21st Director of the Bureau with administrative responsibility for nearly 13,000 permanent employees and a budget of more than $6 billion; provided public testimony before Congressional Oversight and Appropriations Committees and served as the public face for the U.S. Bureau of the Census.¬† Administered Planning for the 2010 Census¬†¬†
1997-2004:¬† Regents Professor, Texas A&M University System.¬† .
2006-2007:¬† Director, Center for Health Workforce Studies, University. of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio¬†¬†
2004-2007:¬† Lutcher Brown Distinguished Chair in Demography and Organization Studies, The University of Texas at San Antonio.¬†¬†
2004-2007:¬† Director, Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio.¬†¬†
2001-2007:¬† State Demographer of Texas (first person appointed to this position).¬†¬†
Books¬†¬†
Steve H. Murdock et al.¬† Population Change in the United States:¬† Socioeconomic Challenges and Opportunities in The Twenty-First Century, Dordrecht¬† Springer Publications 2015. 182 pgs. ¬†¬†
Steve H. Murdock et al. Changing Texas:¬† Implications of Addressing or Ignoring the Texas Challenge¬† College Station, Texas:¬† Texas A&M University Press, 2014, 256 pgs.¬†¬†
Steve H. Murdock and David A. Swanson (eds.) Applied Demography in the Twenty-First Century Berlin: Springer Publications, 2008, 371 pages.¬†¬†
Murdock, Steve H., Chris Kelley, Jeffrey Jordan, Beverly Pecotte, and Alvin Luedke. Demographics: A Guide to Methods and Sources of Data for Demographic Analysis in the Media, Business, and Government. Boulder, Colorado: Paradigm Publishers, 2006. 193 pages.¬†¬†
Murdock, Steve H., Steve White, Md. Nazrul Hoque, Beverly Pecotte, Xiuhong You, and Jennifer Balkan.¬† The New Texas Challenge:¬† Population Change and the Future of Texas. College Station, Texas:¬† Texas A&M University Press, 2003.¬† 240 pages.¬†¬† ¬†¬†
Murdock, Steve H., R.S. Krannich, F.L. Leistritz, S. Spies, J. D. Wulfhorst, K. Wrigley, R. Sell, S. White, and K. Effah.¬† Hazardous Wastes in Rural America:¬† Impacts, Implications and Options for Rural Communities. Boulder, Colorado:¬† Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 1999.¬† 232 pages.¬†¬†
Steve H. Murdock, Md. Nazrul Hoque, Martha Michael, Steve White, and Beverly Pecotte.¬† The Texas Challenge:¬† Population Change and the Future of Texas.¬† College Station, Texas:¬† Texas A&M University Press, 1997.¬† 233 pages.¬†¬†
Steve H. Murdock.¬† An America Challenged:¬† Population Change and the Future of the United States. ¬† Boulder, Colorado:¬† Westview Press, 1995.¬† 253 pages.¬†
Chapters in Books¬†¬†
Murdock, Steve, M. Cline and M. Zey ‚ÄúThe Future of Hispanics May Determine the Socioeconomic Future of the United States.‚ÄĚ pp. 11-32. Challenges of Latino Aging in the Americas.¬† Eds: William A. Vega, Kyriakos S. Markides, Jacqueline L. Angel and Fernando M. Torres-Gil¬†¬†Heidelberg.¬† Springer Publications, 2015.¬†¬†
Murdock, Steve, M. Cline and M. Zey. ¬†‚ÄúThe History of Texas Population‚ÄĚ in Major Problems in Texas History (Second Edition).¬† (Ed: S. Haynes). Arlington: University of Texas-Arlington Press, 2014.¬†¬†
Murdock, Steve and Robert M. Groves.¬† ‚ÄúThe 2010 Census.‚ÄĚ¬† pp. 169-172.¬† Encyclopedia of the U.S. Census.¬† Margo Anderson, Constance Citro¬† and Joseph J. Salvo (eds.).¬† Washington, D. C.:¬† National Academy of Science Press. 2012.¬†¬†
Journal Articles¬†¬†
Murdock, Steve, Mary A. Zey, Michael Cline, and Stephen Klineberg. ‚ÄúPoverty, Educational Attainment and Health Among America‚Äôs Children:¬† Current and Future Effects of Population Diversification and Associated Socioeconomic Change.‚ÄĚ The Journal of Applied Research on Children:¬† Informing Policy for Children at Risk. 1:1:1-33, 2010.¬†¬†
Hoque, Nazrul, Margaret McCuster, Steve H. Murdock and Deborah Perez. ‚ÄúThe Implications of Change in Population Size, Distribution, and Composition on the Number of Overweight and Obese Adults and the Direct and Indirect Costs Associated with Overweight and Obese Adults in Texas Through 2040‚ÄĚ Population Research and Policy Review 29:2:173-191, 2010.¬†¬†
Murdock, Steve H. ‚ÄúThe Potential Effects of Legal and Unauthorized International Migration on the Census and Other Data Sources in the United States: Methodological and Policy Issues in 2010 and Beyond.‚ÄĚ Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, 13:31:1-14, 2006.¬†¬†
McCusker, Margaret E., Steve H. Murdock, Md. Nazrul Hoque, Eduardo J. Sanchez, and Philip P. Huang. ‚ÄúThe Projected Burden of Overweight and Obesity in Texas Through 2040.‚ÄĚ The Journal of Obesity.¬† June 2004.¬†¬†
McGehee, Mary A., Stanley D. Hall, and Steve H. Murdock. ‚ÄúRural and Urban Death Rates by Race/Ethnicty and Gender, Texas: 1990 and 2000.‚ÄĚ The Journal of Multicultural Nursing & Health 10:2: 13-21, Summer 2004.¬†¬†
Murdock, Steve H., M. Nazrul Hoque, Kenneth Johnson and Mary McGehee.¬† ‚ÄúRacial/Ethnic Diversification in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Population Change in the United States: Implications for Health Care Provision in Rural America.‚ÄĚ¬† The Journal of Rural Health 19(4): 425-432, 2003.¬†¬†
Swenson, Tami, Steve White, and Steve H. Murdock. ‚ÄúTime Limit and Sanction Effects of the Texas TANF Waiver.‚ÄĚ Southern Rural Sociology 18(1): 82-110, 2002.¬†¬†
Murdock, Steve H., N. Zhai, and R. Saenz.¬† ‚ÄúThe Effect of Immigration on 1980 to 1990 Change in Poverty in the Southwestern United States.‚ÄĚ¬† Social Science Quarterly 80(2): 310-324, 1999.¬†¬†
Murdock, Steve H. and M. Nazrul Hoque.¬† ‚ÄúCurrent Patterns and Future Trends in the Population of the United States:¬† Implications for Dentistry and the Dental Profession in the Twenty-First Century.‚ÄĚ¬† Journal of the American College of Dentists (65)4: 29-35, 1998.¬†¬†
Hwang, Sean-Shong and Steve H. Murdock.¬† ‚ÄúRacial Attraction or Racial Avoidance in American Suburbs?‚ÄĚ¬† Social Forces 77(2): 541-565, 1998.